Holden Hall, which houses the Mining and Minerals Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering programs at Virginia Tech, will nearly triple in size to transform the building into a centerpiece for learning and research.
The Collegiate Times, the student newspaper at Virginia Tech, reports that the renovations will enlarge the facility on the Blacksburg, Va., campus to 102,000 square feet; it now has 41,000 square feet.
Assistant Vice President of University Relations Mike Owczarski, says the construction will replace an antiquated, small teaching facility with one that is larger, more modern and more relevant to current teaching and research.
“Holden was built in 1940, so a lot of the technology, the space, the things that you’re teaching and the things you’re conducting research on have changed tremendously,” Owczarski says. “The renovation of Holden Hall will really, significantly improve the teaching and research that goes on in those two departments.”
When the renovations are complete in 2021, the single story on the east wing will be upgraded to a three-story wing, and the entire north wing will be demolished to make room for a four-story addition. New labs and computational spaces will be inside these wings, and classrooms will have the latest technology.
One of Holden’s features for students in the College of Engineering will be a two-story Center for Autonomous Mining and Robotics. Students will be able to immerse themselves in an artificial mine and learn from materials supplied by various limestone quarries.
“Today, mining is done very differently with robotics,” Owczarski says. “Students need to learn that, and they need that hands-on experience –– the environment of a mine, and the use of robotics can be done in a safe place right here on campus to give students and teachers a resource that will be relevant for the industry today.”
